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McConnell Defends Filibuster as ‘Kentucky’s Veto’

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Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) slams Rep. John Yarmuth (D-KY), who has argued for eliminating the Senate filibuster, in the Louisville Courier Journal:

“Congressman John Yarmuth likes to pretend he knows me. He talks to reporters and writes in these pages as if he’s some sort of ‘McConnell-whisperer.’ That’s a full day’s drive from reality…”

“Yarmuth also thinks he knows the Senate, even if he never had the gumption to challenge me. The Senate stands as a firewall against heated passions and short-term electoral changes. Rules like the filibuster, which requires 60 votes to advance most legislation, exist to block bad ideas from becoming law and to encourage bipartisan solutions. This design also stabilizes national policy from swinging with every shift of the political winds.

“The legislative filibuster is the essence of the Senate.”

Gerald Seib: Filibuster debate tears at Biden and Senate, with long term consequences.

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About Political Wire

Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.

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